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Archive of posts filed under the Crafts and Do It Yourself category.

I have a VERY old house. It’s always needing something – nothing lasts forever – and hiring someone to do anything can be a lot more expensive than hiring someone to do the same project on a newer home. Some of it I can see – old houses aren’t plumb – they’ve settled over the …

Introduction Do you have a gnat problem? If so, you’re in luck because you reached a good resource that can help you deal with these nasty little critters. I have two suggestions that will help you get rid of gnats without endangering your loved ones, pets, or yourself. I happen to live in a older …

Watermarking an image won’t prevent someone from hotlinking or taking it for their own use, but at least the image will be branded as your own. This tutorial uses Paint Shop Pro 8 and creates a watermark that can blend in with the image. Yeah, I know it’s an old version but it works for …

There are plenty of face scrubs commercially available, but Ifind many of them either too expensive or not too my liking – for example, some have scrubbing particles that feel like boulders, others don’t have enough particles to feel useful. There’s also the fact I’m a little wary of products containing ingredients I can’t even …

Forget to pick up any gift tags or just want to print your own? I made several from public domain clipart to share. The full sized images are futher down in this post – simply right click the ones you want and save to your computer, copy/paste into Wordpad and print. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas! …

This crochet stitch works up fast, is very easy to do and is extremely versatile. It’s textured and there is no wrong and right side so it’s completely reversible so it’s good to use for almost anything. I’ve made ponchos, baby blankets, afghans, scarves, shawls and more with it. The weight of your project is …

I used to buy the fragrance products you clipped to the filter in your homes air return filter to help freshen air being circulated. They worked well – but only for a very short time and I quickly realized their cost didn’t justify their benefit. I found a cheaper way to freshen the circulated air.

People who use their imagination and can do a bit of sewing can create designer type clothes for a very modest cost. You don’t have to make an item from scratch – you can modify existing items to have beautiful, one of a kind items. If you don’t do much sewing there are still minor …

I’ve never been a doll person, but I do like restoring them. I’ve had a lot of people contact me inquiring how to salvage a doll that is in good shape other than having hair which has become nappy over time. You have several options…

You may see fruit flies year round, but with the coming of spring they are worse. You spray, you hang sticky traps, you swat but these things can be difficult to get rid of. Recycle 2 liter (or other size) drink bottles into a diy fruit fly trap. It’s cheap, quick, easy, and non-toxic.

Summer is almost here and with it comes exposure to plants and insects which can cause discomfort (to put it mildly). Most people know about poison ivy, sumac and oak, stinging nettles and irritants of that nature, but there are food producing plants can cause uncomfortable if short-lived skin irritation for some people.

Without fail each year brings some scumbags who toss their used Christmas trees out beside the road or dumb them on private property. Losers like that are litterbugs and need to stick to artificial trees. They made the effort to get the tree home to enjoy – once done with it they need to make …

Sometimes a heating pad just won’t flex to heat what you want heated, for example around your neck, and those you can buy tend to be rather expensive. Here’s an idea for one that is quick, easy and cheap to make.

GRAPHICS PORTAL I now have my graphics portal area up although it’s a work in progress and not a lot there yet. Currently there are antique Thanksgiving postcards, antique Valentines, and I’ll be adding more content as time permits. Enjoy!

When the brand of tea tree soap I used was discontinued I decided to make my own as I wasn’t all that pleased with some of the others I tried. It’s easy and fun to do, cheaper than most you buy in stores, and best of all, you can experiment with adding other ingredients to …

I finally have a page showing some samples of my crafts back up! You can visit it HERE. I enjoy working with Barbie and Kelly doll, beading, shrink plastic, jewelrycraft, scrollsaw, paper mache, polymer clay and making Christmas and Santa items and ornaments. Most of the items shown have been sold but I should have …